There are some who would love to spend an eternity by a pool in Spain dancing the ‘Cha Cha Slide’ until they pass out on a sun lounger. There are others who would prefer to spend the afterlife with bifid-tongued demons than wait in line for a subpar continental buffet.

I fall into the second camp. It’s not that I think all-inclusive holidays are without purpose, it’s just that I think all-inclusives have passed their sell-by date. I’m sure that Gérard Blitz’s initial idea for an all-inclusive came from a good place: his desire to entertain the masses. But these resorts are a far stretch from the original straw huts and bartering beads of Club Med’s 1950s design. Back then they weren’t just about getting loaded on bottom-shelf vodka and fighting with other Brits by the pool bar.

I just don’t think I can bring myself to spend a month’s salary on eating processed food

Over time these resorts have transmuted into gluttonous and greedy excursions. They’ve lost touch with the very notion of travel. The point of an all-inclusive is not about exploration, nor is it about cultural appreciation. We’ve taken the idea of unlimited consumption and run with it, leaving behind the enjoyment of another culture. We’ve decided to take a slice of Blighty and plonk it on the less temperate coastlines of our European neighbours – and beyond. Take a look at Spain. Good old Spain. All-inclusive hotels line the Spanish coast like a pesky rash. We, the Brits, are the infection.

I understand becoming giddy at the thought of a hotel where everything is included in the price. All-inclusives make holidaying easy. But the novelty wears thin. It’s a bit like eating a dozen meringues: it’s fun until you throw up. There’s also something disconcerting about getting on a plane with 50 other Brits, landing in a foreign country, and being shuttled to your hotel via coach to spend the following seven days with several hundred more Brits.

QOSHE - Holidays / It’s time to ditch the all-inclusive - Zak Asgard
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Holidays / It’s time to ditch the all-inclusive

14 1
13.03.2024

There are some who would love to spend an eternity by a pool in Spain dancing the ‘Cha Cha Slide’ until they pass out on a sun lounger. There are others who would prefer to spend the afterlife with bifid-tongued demons than wait in line for a subpar continental buffet.

I fall into the second camp. It’s not that I think all-inclusive holidays are without purpose, it’s just that I think all-inclusives have passed their sell-by date. I’m sure that Gérard Blitz’s initial idea........

© The Spectator


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